The One With the iPhone 2011 in Review

It has been nearly two months since I posted here. I am not going to try to make any excuses. I just plain didn’t have time. But I am kind of excited to start posting again. Breathing again. Maybe reading a book. Watching a movie or two. Tonight I was looking through the photos on my iPhone, and I decided to do a little review of 2011 from the point of view of my constant companion, the iPhone. We are so close I really should name him. These are about a tenth of the 400+ photos on my phone. Warning: Some of this is extremely random, and there were many events I completely failed to capture via phone. These are in chronological order, beginning in January. Here we go...

The funniest notification I have ever gotten on my phone (and something of which I must frequently remind myself):

My cute little primary people looking at a hymnbook together:

Pizookie party!

Eating a very strange dinner with a life-sized bust of the pope staring at me.

Driving past the L.A. Temple in the rain:

Right after getting my hair done. Wish I could blow-dry my hair like they do. Also, I have a HUGE nose.

Casey and Hannah right after their wedding!

Jimmer fever.

These are my new primary peeps. AWESOME.

My business partner.

A hotel stay in L.A. From my hotel window, I could see ten separate Lap Band billboards!

My crazy little nephews that look like little Harry Potters.

Four times this year I have been stuck on THIS freeway interchange in traffic. I sort of hyperventilate being stuck on a car suspended a hundred feet in the air.

I have to assume Skippy took this one. And the battle ensued.

A photo from my first of not one, but TWO trips to Missoula, Montana. Clark Fork River from downtown.

Photo shoot with two cameras. Way fun.

Waiting for fireworks to erupt on July 4 from Trabuco Mesa Park.

Writing out guitar chords for one of many songs for the CD.

Not sure why I shot this, but it is certainly true.

Cousins, and water.

Sisters.

Cupcake garden.

Taking a random ukelele for a test drive at Guitar Center.

Making a fruit display for a friend’s wedding.

Taco Tuesday!

Windmills near Palm Springs.

A couple cool shots of downtown Phoenix in 108-degree weather.

Hannah and Skippy at Five Guys, downtown Phoenix. Skippy’s first time... he loved the peanuts.

 J and J, Hannah, and baby Reeses waiting for bride and groom to come out.

Some of my favorite menfolk.

Beautiful daughter-in-law, DK (Darling Kevin)

Love this one of my grandson.

Second trip to Missoula, different place on the Clark Fork River. Worst trip of my life, but beautiful shot.

Walking at the lake in Rancho Santa Margarita. I did a lot of that this year.

Random Sunday shot.

This one is a little hard to explain. I don’t think I should try. Let’s just say when I am having a bad day I look at this on and have a good laugh.

Proof that we get a little fall color in Orange County.

Skip and Cam’s list for Santa.

Son and grandson. Awesomeness.

13 hours without electricity. Kind of dreamy. Did dishes by candlelight, made no-bake cookies, ordered pizza and watched movies on the iPad.

Saturday afternoon of concerts, spent helping Andrew and Melissa put up more lights and video for the second night of concerts. That is my grand piano up there on the stage... another crazy story there.

2011, just about done, and I am kind of relieved. I almost can’t believe all the stuff I did this year. 2012, bring it on. Just let me sleep a couple of days first.

The One With the Little Catch-Up

Time to play a little catch-up.

The choosy family (you know, Jif’s parents) are getting me a new grandbaby. And we’re keeping Jif as well. So yes, by Thanksgiving I will have two grandbabies. And the daddy in question pretty much dominated at UCLA Law School this year, and has accepted a cool paid internship to Occidental Petroleum in-house counsel for the summer.


Tyler got glasses. They make him look very smart. He is still pursuing nursing and I am pretty sure he will be home in time for our birthdays (his is the day before mine).

Casey just got to BYU Idaho and is pretty excited about it. His goal is a joint JD-Poly Sci program, with the intent to change immigration law someday. Did that make any sense?

DK and I just attended a vocal concert at the Marine base in San Diego where Ethan performed. Yes, vocal. And it was pretty cool. He sang a capella, for the Commanding General of the base. But wait... then the Commanding General sang. And I have to admit, Brigadier General whoever-he-is pretty much owned everyone, so I had to tell Ethan he was second-best. Here is a “video” of Ethan... except it is just black, recorded from about 20 feet away, on my iPhone. Oh, and you can hear planes take off during the performance. Makes it seem more authentic, I think.



As for the rest, Dillon is obsessed with Café Rio, Cambria turned into a teenager, and Skippy has no front teeth. DK is working like a dog (I know… how hard does a dog really work?)

My week is shaping up to be pretty ugly, but that is just because I have been using my online calendar. My weeks are always this bad, but I just don't notice it because I usually don't keep a calendar. It is probably a mistake. Next thing you know, I will be wearing a watch or something (just kidding... won’t happen). And in addition to the full calendar, I am keeping up on my music goals. Even if I have to stay up too late.

And that is us, in a nutshell.

P.S. Did you know that to add a video in Blogger, you have to revert to the old post editor? Weird!

The One With Craig, Megan and the Randomalia

This morning, true confessions.

First of all, I just have to get this out. I have never been able to distinguish properly between Craig’s List and Megan’s List. I realize now (don’t ask me how) that it is an important distinction. But it is not totally my fault. I know a Craig and a Megan, and they are married to each other. They probably each have their own lists, as well. Be that as it may, I was a little horrified when some nice lady from church mentioned that she had a current listing on Craig’s List. She always seemed so nice. I suppose they usually do. I saw a similar look of horror when I showed someone the studio monitor speakers I had bought from a guy in Irvine I found on Megan’s List. Even as I am typing this, I am not positive I remember which is which, so for now I think it is probably safer that I stick with eBay.

This one is not my confession, but Dillon’s. Apparently yesterday in Seminary, he whipped out a pair of underwear. Not his own. Also not really his fault. Dillon, who is 17, is the nicest big brother in the world, and still shares a room with Skippy even though he doesn’t have to… mainly because Skippy wants to. Dillon even does Skippy’s laundry along with his own, and when he pulled his clean sweatshirt out of his backpack at Seminary, a pair of 6x Spiderman boxer briefs fell out of it, right onto the floor. Dillon says he jumped on them so fast, he doesn’t think anyone else saw. (So I thought I would share it just in case.)

Last but not least, I had a really weird beach experience last week, which I have been pondering ever since. I think that the next time I go, I am going to take my own “PROHIBITED” sign. The sign would include, but not be limited to, the following:

No old men in thongs
No public urination (ten feet from where I park my towel)
No asking for bongs. Bring your own, or do without.
No reenactments of “Endless Love” with girls under 14
No wearing your nasty briefs instead of swim trunks
No lying on top of each other, especially if you are unattractive to begin with (sorry if that one sounds discriminatory)
No No NO lying on top of each other if you are the aforementioned guy wearing the briefs instead of a swimsuit. I’m serious, Fruit of the Loom... give it a rest.
No playing of guitar and singing after consuming too much alcohol, or if you are tone-deaf, or both

That’s pretty much it. I am not that hard to please. Thank you for helping to keep the beach happy for all of us.